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Overview
Marianne Putnam's one-act play is about to come to life, if she can put up with the guidance of an egotistical New York director who seems to think his primary job is tormenting the cast and crew at the Serendipity Springs community center. Jason Newhall's efforts might be working in more ways than one — while the play gets better, everyone hates him more and more, including a trickster playing jokes in the theater.
Just when Marianne's baby is about to have its moment in the spotlight, the director fails to show up for curtain time. Marianne and his wife rush to his house to find him dead. Though no one really liked him, who hated him enough to kill him? Everyone in the cast and crew is considered a suspect, along with the director's wife and Marianne.
Sheriff Formero plays a trick of his own when Marianne and her mah jongg friends want to investigate the case—he invites Syd, Micki and Kat to work with him and his deputies to interview a long list of potential suspects, but only under his conditions. But Marianne can't resist getting involved too. She enlists the hapless husbands of her friends, and they set out to solve the crime on their own ... only to learn the hard way that independence can be dangerous.
The Mah Jongg Mystery Series is set in the fictional central Florida town of Serendipity Springs. It features four retired women who meet playing the game of Mah Jongg and from there develop a strong friendship. Two have been married several years and have grown children and grandchildren, one is divorced and one has never been married. In their earlier lives, all had rewarding careers, but that doesn't mean they're content to sit back and relax now. As the series progresses, each pursues new interests, Kat Faulkner as a songstress, Marianne Putnam writing one-act plays, Micki Demetrius as a freelance journalist and Sydney Bonner interior design.
In their community they engage in such activities as a social group for those over 50, numerous stops at the local coffeehouse, classes and other activities at the community center and even a shopping trip to Naples. Syd's husband, Trip, and Marianne's husband, Beau, are golf buddies who spend many a day on the course. When not there, Trip is busy seeking to build a new post retirement life, and Beau, a former botanist, is often prevailed upon to join in Trip's latest activity. Sheriff Rick Formero, a widower, intrigued by Kat, presses for her to make more of their relationship and Kat slowly comes around. Micki, burned by her former spouse, isn't ready for a serious relationship, at least that's what she claims, but retired attorney, Guy Whitney, also a widower, tries to convince her to think otherwise.
Kat has lived a frugal life until winning big in a lottery shortly after her mother's death; suddenly, Kat has money and doesn't know how to spend it. But her pal, Micki, does, even if it's to guide Kat through a makeover and wardrobe change for her lounge act.
The four don't seek out murders to investigate; somehow the circumstances and those affected drag them in. To their surprise, they like investigating homicides, and they're good at it, although along the way, following a few lucky escapes from near-death situations, they discover they must learn self-defense. But it takes time for them to sell their skills and special abilities as civilians to the sheriff.
Barbara Barrett is already published in contemporary romance. Like her protagonists, she is retired and is a resident of Florida, although she spends her summers in her home state of Iowa. She is married with grown children and eight grandchildren. She spent over three decades as a human resource management analyst with Iowa state government. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Sisters in Crime – Iowa, and Florida Star Fiction Writers.
Just when Marianne's baby is about to have its moment in the spotlight, the director fails to show up for curtain time. Marianne and his wife rush to his house to find him dead. Though no one really liked him, who hated him enough to kill him? Everyone in the cast and crew is considered a suspect, along with the director's wife and Marianne.
Sheriff Formero plays a trick of his own when Marianne and her mah jongg friends want to investigate the case—he invites Syd, Micki and Kat to work with him and his deputies to interview a long list of potential suspects, but only under his conditions. But Marianne can't resist getting involved too. She enlists the hapless husbands of her friends, and they set out to solve the crime on their own ... only to learn the hard way that independence can be dangerous.
The Mah Jongg Mystery Series is set in the fictional central Florida town of Serendipity Springs. It features four retired women who meet playing the game of Mah Jongg and from there develop a strong friendship. Two have been married several years and have grown children and grandchildren, one is divorced and one has never been married. In their earlier lives, all had rewarding careers, but that doesn't mean they're content to sit back and relax now. As the series progresses, each pursues new interests, Kat Faulkner as a songstress, Marianne Putnam writing one-act plays, Micki Demetrius as a freelance journalist and Sydney Bonner interior design.
In their community they engage in such activities as a social group for those over 50, numerous stops at the local coffeehouse, classes and other activities at the community center and even a shopping trip to Naples. Syd's husband, Trip, and Marianne's husband, Beau, are golf buddies who spend many a day on the course. When not there, Trip is busy seeking to build a new post retirement life, and Beau, a former botanist, is often prevailed upon to join in Trip's latest activity. Sheriff Rick Formero, a widower, intrigued by Kat, presses for her to make more of their relationship and Kat slowly comes around. Micki, burned by her former spouse, isn't ready for a serious relationship, at least that's what she claims, but retired attorney, Guy Whitney, also a widower, tries to convince her to think otherwise.
Kat has lived a frugal life until winning big in a lottery shortly after her mother's death; suddenly, Kat has money and doesn't know how to spend it. But her pal, Micki, does, even if it's to guide Kat through a makeover and wardrobe change for her lounge act.
The four don't seek out murders to investigate; somehow the circumstances and those affected drag them in. To their surprise, they like investigating homicides, and they're good at it, although along the way, following a few lucky escapes from near-death situations, they discover they must learn self-defense. But it takes time for them to sell their skills and special abilities as civilians to the sheriff.
Barbara Barrett is already published in contemporary romance. Like her protagonists, she is retired and is a resident of Florida, although she spends her summers in her home state of Iowa. She is married with grown children and eight grandchildren. She spent over three decades as a human resource management analyst with Iowa state government. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Sisters in Crime – Iowa, and Florida Star Fiction Writers.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781948532228 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Barbara Barrett |
| Publication date: | 07/09/2020 |
| Series: | The Mah Jongg Mysteries , #6 |
| Pages: | 234 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.49(d) |
About the Author
Barbara Barrett started reading mysteries when she was pregnant with her first child to keep her mind off things like her changing body and food cravings. When she’d devoured as many Agatha Christies as she could find, she branched out to English village cozies and Ellery Queen.
Later, to avoid a midlife crisis, she began writing fiction at night when she wasn’t at her day job in human resources for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and two novellas, she returned to the cozy mystery genre, using one of her retirement pastimes, the game of mah jongg, as her inspiration. Not only has it been a great social outlet, it has also helped keep her mind active when not writing.
Jokers Wild, the sixth book in her “Mah Jongg Mystery” series, features four friends who play mah jongg together and share otherwise in each other’s lives. None of the four is based on an actual person. Each is an amalgamation of several mah jongg friends with a lot of Barbara’s imagination thrown in for good measure. The four will continue to appear in future books in the series.
Barbara is a member of Sisters in Crime, Sinc-Iowa and Florida Star Fiction Writers.
She is married to the man she met her senior year of college. They have two grown children and eight grandchildren.
Later, to avoid a midlife crisis, she began writing fiction at night when she wasn’t at her day job in human resources for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and two novellas, she returned to the cozy mystery genre, using one of her retirement pastimes, the game of mah jongg, as her inspiration. Not only has it been a great social outlet, it has also helped keep her mind active when not writing.
Jokers Wild, the sixth book in her “Mah Jongg Mystery” series, features four friends who play mah jongg together and share otherwise in each other’s lives. None of the four is based on an actual person. Each is an amalgamation of several mah jongg friends with a lot of Barbara’s imagination thrown in for good measure. The four will continue to appear in future books in the series.
Barbara is a member of Sisters in Crime, Sinc-Iowa and Florida Star Fiction Writers.
She is married to the man she met her senior year of college. They have two grown children and eight grandchildren.
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